There's a myth that's been propagated on the Internet that lemon juice and lemonade can lower your blood pressure. There's no scientific evidence, however, to support this hypothesis, nor is there sound scientific theory to back up the notion. You should talk to your doctor if you have, or think you have, high blood pressure.
Hypertension
Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. Your body needs to maintain a certain amount of pressure in your blood vessels in order to keep blood moving through your body. Just as water won't move through a pipe without some pressure behind it, without blood pressure, you can't move your blood. If your blood pressure is too high, however, you can experience a number of negative and potentially dangerous health effects.
Hypertension Causes And Effects
According to PubMed Health, most hypertension has no discernible cause, and because symptoms can be quite nonspecific, it's difficult to know you have high blood pressure unless you see your doctor regularly to get screened. If you have high blood pressure and don't get it treated, you could end up with a heart attack or stroke, could suffer an aortic bleed -- damage to the major artery that carries blood from your heart -- or could have visual problems.
Lemonade
Despite the prevalence of the myth that lemonade lowers blood pressure, there's no scientific research to support this notion. Lemons are not a traditional remedy for high blood pressure, and they don't contain any compounds known or suspected to decrease blood pressure. If you know or suspect that you have high blood pressure, therefore, it's not safe to try to treat it on your own using lemonade; you should see your doctor and follow the suggestions prescribed to you.
Effective Treatments
While lemonade won't lower your blood pressure, there are many lifestyle changes and medications that can. The American Heart Association explains that decreasing your salt intake -- in general, Americans consume far more salt than is healthy -- helps lower blood pressure and decreases your risk of negative health outcomes. Decreasing stress will also help. Finally, your doctor may prescribe medications to help lower blood pressure, depending upon your particular situation.
